In one week, this coming Sunday, we celebrate the Independence Day of the Philippines. By celebrate, of course, it’s time once again for #RP612Fic. Those of you who have participated before know the drill, but I’ve updated the primer a little this year, so both old hands and mystified newbies may want to read on. [...]

Editors Kate Osias and Elyss Punsalan invite you to submit short fiction for consideration for Philippine Speculative Fiction volume 11. PSF is a yearly anthology series, showcasing stories that define, explore, and sometimes blur the boundaries of science fiction, fantasy, horror, and all things in between. The anthology has been shortlisted for the National [...]

The tenth edition of the annual anthology is already released (digitally): Flipside Amazon Kobo Google Play iTunes Weightless Books Everyone is also invited to the official book launch: Come join us at the Philippine Speculative Fiction X book launch! We’re celebrating the tenth volume of this trailblazing annual anthology on Saturday, May 7, at 2 p.m. at [...]

It’s no secret that the need for representation in genre fiction is one of the reasons that I write, and I’m very proud (alongside Kate Osias and TJ Dimacali among others) to be a part of a Southeast Asian steampunk anthology: The SEA is Ours. The editors/publisher are crowdsourcing funds to help pay writers and [...]

The “[Blank] Destroy [Blank] special issues of Lightspeed/Nightmare/Fantasy Magazines create spaces for diversity within speculative fiction through Kickstarter-funded special issues that focus on a particular community. Next up is something that writers and readers of Filipino speculative fiction should take note of — a special issue for People of Colo(u)r, a somewhat loaded term that is [...]

Stories will be judged by Amal El-Mohtar, Fabio Fernandes and Nisi Shawl.

One winning microstory will receive a paperback copy of the We See a Different Frontier anthology sent in the mail (an alternative prize of a pb of Outlaw Bodies may be offered if you already own a copy), plus a signed copy of Ernest Hogan’s Smoking Mirror Blues, the new Crossed Genres superhero anthology Oomph, and the steampunk anthology Journeys in the Winterlands.

Runners-up prizes will include e-books of WSaDF or Outlaw Bodies, and Oomph.

The winning microstories may be reproduced by Futurefire.net Publishing in promotion for the anthology, but beyond that they belong to the authors.

A speculative fiction book by a Filipino-Canadian author, which uses elements of Philippine folklore, was recently brought to my attention — because how could I ignore artwork by Usok artist K. Lapeña? So here’s a synopsis of The Lost Amulets (Kindle link here) by Cindy Lapeña:

Four children are recruited to join a party of Littlefolk to search for the High King and are thrown instead into an adventure where they travel by land, sea and air all over the islands of Dapit-Adlaw to find three magical items that have to be restored to their rightful places. Their mission is conveyed to them by a spirit seer who gives them only a cryptic rhyme:

“Nine Kingseekers seek more than a King

Nine lives to save one

Nine nights by three tokens

Nine and nine and nine and three

or what there is will no longer be.”

Their only other information on what they must fulfill is to return “to the night the breeze, to the sky the bridge of colours, and to the hunter his magic spear.

Armed with only this information, the party of nine sets off to save Dapit-Adlaw and the High King.

1. Pick a book (or two, or three, or yes, four!) that you wish to give away, or that’s okay for you to part with, for one reason or another. Make sure to check the pages for important stuff – anything you may have inserted there and forgotten but you may want to hold on to.

2. Download and print the customized bookplates that you’ll find below these instructions. It doesn’t have to be in color – black and white will work just as fine! Paste or stick one bookplate on a clear page or area of the book/s that you wish to give away. Yes, you can sign your name there, too, if you want.

3. Leave or “drop” the book/s in a public place, or basically any place where people are sure to see them: in a café, in the office, at a restaurant, the gym, it’s up to you. (Well, maybe not inside a bookstore, yeah.) You know where someone is likely to see the book/s and pick it up, yes?

4. Before leaving the book/s where you “dropped” them, take a photo. If you’re leaving two or more books, be sure to take note of the date, time, and place where you left each one.

So how is everyone going to know that you have dropped a book somewhere? You can do any of the following:

(a) If you have a Twitter account, just tweet the title of the book, where and when you dropped it, and attach the appropriate photo. If you dropped two or more books, tweet about each title separately.

(b) You can also post about it on Facebook – on your own profile/timeline, if it’s set to public, OR on the Filipino ReaderCon page itself. Same details apply: title of the book, place and date of the drop, and photo. If you’re dropping two or more books, you have the option to include all the books in one go or post about the books individually. It’s up to you.

IMPORTANT: Please use the hashtags #pbdrop and #filreadercon and don’t forget to tag us at @PinoyReaderCon for every tweet!

5. The actual dropping of books will take place for an entire week, from October 21 – 27, but if you have your book/s ready for dropping before then, that’s good too – just go ahead and drop them. We will post another set of instructions for this activity on the third Filipino Friday, October 25th.

6. On the other hand, if you’re one of those who are lucky enough to find a dropped book, we encourage you to tell us all about it, as well! Tweet and Facebook any dropped book that you find – same instructions on using the hashtags #pbdrop and #filreadercon and tagging us at @PinoyReaderCon apply.

Oh, and here are the Pinoy Book Drop bookplates courtesy of the lovely Tina.

Additional Instructions: Interested to know who found your book? Just stick or attach a note addressed to your book’s new owner to Tweet or post on Facebook about his/her newest find. As usual, hashtags #pbdrop and #filreadercon and tagging @PinoyReaderCon are encouraged.

Got it? Let’s do the Pinoy Book Drop! See you again on the third week of Filipino Fridays!

Hey, Trese fans! We’ve mentioned the upcoming Night Gallery exhibit and Book of Murders collected edition before, but here are some preview pages and details, straight from Budjette Tan:

This Halloween season, the Crucible Gallery becomes a gateway to Manila’s supernatural underworld as they present TRESE NIGHT GALLERY, the first one-man show of Kajo Baldisimo, artist of the award-winning graphic novel “Trese”.

The exhibit will feature thirteen limited-edition digital prints featuring a modern take on creatures from Philippine folklore and myth, as well as original art depicting the cast of characters of “Trese”.

Dare to venture into the TRESE NIGHT GALLERY from October 22 to November 3, 2013 at the Crucible Gallery, 4th F, SM Megamall, Ortigas.

Meet the creators of “Trese”, writer Budjette Tan and artist Kajo Baldisimo, when they attend the official opening of TRESE NIGHT GALLERY on October 26 at 5pm.

On that same night, they will launch TRESE: BOOK OF MURDERS, a 360-page, 6.7” x 10.23”, hardcover collector’s edition compiling the first 13 Trese stories with digitally-updated artwork and new short stories with a cover price of P950.00.

It’s 22 days until the 2013 Filipino Reader Con, and as has become tradition, part of the run up to the event involves Filipino readers blogging about a particular topic every Friday, for the four weeks leading up to the event. Today is the second Friday in “Filipino Fridays”, as the event is called, and the new topic is about the books of our childhood:

What were your favorite books as a kid or while you were growing up? Do you still read children’s books? If you could give your younger self a book to read, what would it be?

I can’t actually remember many childhood books. I have it on good authority (hi, Mom!) that I read the requisite Dr. Seus books, Bible stories, and fairy tales, but I don’t really remember them. The earliest books that I remember really seeking out and obsessing over were the Choose-your-own-adventure books — not just those with the CYOA brand, but anything that any book that allowed me to affect the outcome — Lone Wolf, Wizards, Warriors & You, Space Hawks, Way of the Tiger… Comics were the other hallmarks, but I didn’t start with superheroes: Peanuts and Asterix, those were the books most often under my pillow at night.

I still read CYOA books, although not the same ones I used to read when I was a child, and usually in their new digital form (not coincidentally, I’ve also taken to writing them).

If I could give one book to my younger self… it would be either the Soul Book or A Treasury of Stories. I didn’t stumble upon the richness of Philippine mythology and folklore until Arnold Arre’s Mythology Class came out, and I’ve always wished it could have been otherwise.

Budjette Tan dropped a bombshell over the weekend with two announcements: first, a one-man art show from Trese co-creator Kajo Baldisimo, at the Crucible Gallery (SM Megamall, Level 4), running from from October 22 until November 3. The exhibit, Kajo’s first one-man show, will feature 13 limited-edition digital prints, featuring the creatures and characters from the award-winning graphic novel Trese, as well as the original artwork from the recently released illustrated shorty story collection, Stories from the Diabolical.

The second announcement is that, on the official launch of the exhibit on October 26, Budjette and Kajo will also launch a new collection of the first three Trese volumes, called the Book of Murders, with digitally updated art. Looks like Trese fans have a lot to look forward to, even before the new volume arrives.

It’s a bit less than a month before the 2013 Filipino Reader Con, and as has become tradition, part of the run up to the event involves Filipino readers blogging about a particular topic every Friday, for the four weeks leading up to the event. “Filipino Fridays”, as the event is called, are a great opportunity to do some self-reflection, and to learn more about other Filipino readers and bloggers. If you’ve got a blog or a social network account, do try and join — it’s a great way to support the convention and to meet new people who share your passion for reading. Although, maybe not exactly in the same way — there are many kinds of readers, as the first installment of Filipino Fridays aims to show:

Hello, Reader! Let’s get to know you, and more importantly, what kind of reader are you? Laura E. Kelly released an infographic about Reader species — under what Domain/Class/Family/Genus/Species do you fall under? Give examples, and feel free to talk about why you belong to that species. Who knows, you may find readers in your own genus.

I’ve linked to the chart below, but this one’s pretty easy for me to answer: I’m a Book Abuser, specifically an Underliner and Scribbler. Even with ebooks, I’m a voracious highlighter, particularly when I’m reading non-fiction, but even fiction is fair game, as I love returning to well written passages or turns of phrase and figuring out what makes them tick. I’ve got a little bit of the Multitasker in me as well. I used to be a Book-Buster, but sadly no longer have the time to re-read a book 8 times in a year, so most of my current hardcopy favorites are pristine compared to my teenage infatuations.

What about you guys? What kind of Reader Species are you? Check the chart below, and write about it, then link your post to the Filipino Fridays (1) post so they can, in turn, link to you. If you’d like to get a head start on the other Filipino Friday topics as well, the complete list of forthcoming topics is here.

Please include attribution to Laura E. Kelly with this graphic.(Click to view at original large size.)

Please include attribution to Laura E. Kelly with this graphic.(Click to view at original large size.)

Tintin Pantoja (“Who is AC?“) is running another workshop at Fully Booked in November, this time a one day affair that focuses on character design. Says Tintin:

In my Character Design Workshop, learn how to draw comics and manga-style characters, and then create your own. We’ll cover the basics of anatomy, inking, and coloring; how to draw different poses; the differences between drawing girls and boys; and how to draw hands and faces.

This is perfect for fans of comics, graphic novels, manga, and anime, and both budding and experienced artists. Open to kids, teens, and adults. Cost is P600. Some materials will be provided, but we also advice you to bring your favorite coloring materials (markers, color pencils, etc.) and materials. Slots are limited so please reserve early! The first five confirmed reservations get 10% off.

The workshop will be on November 24 at 2pm to 5pm, at The Forum, Fully Booked BGC (Bonifacio High Street). Call/text Tintin Pantoja @ 0928-506-1046 or email her at tintinp@gmail.com for more info.

It’s on, you guys! Visprint is, for my money, THE best Philippine print publisher (no bias, I swear), not just when it comes to speculative fiction and comics, but responsiveness to what readers want as well. The warehouse sale is a great way to get their titles at a discount. Here are the price lists. First for comics:

Then for everything else:

And here’s a map (and here’s the Google Maps version), followed by a few advisories from the good folk at Visprint:

The third Filipino Reader Con is scarcely more than a month away, and the organizers have recently released details about the program and panels/activities for the event:

Panels

Kids and their Stories (9:15 – 10:35)

Witness children’s book authors and illustrators interview a roomful of kids and teens to ask them what their favorite books are and what kinds of stories they find interesting.

Don’t Hate Me Because I’m Popular (9:15 – 10:35)

Hear some of the most popular authors of different genres talk about their genres and their fans.

The Digital Filipino Reader (10:40 – 12:00)

Listen to book bloggers from around the Philippines talk about how ebooks have influenced their current reading habits.

What Booksellers Know (10:40 – 12:00)

Watch representatives from local bookstores talk about what is popular among their buyers.

Authors as Readers (1:00 – 2:00)

Listen to your favorite authors talk about their favorite books.

Activities

The Book Reco Fair (1:00 – 1:45)

Get a slew of book recommendations and book lists for your school or personal reading list from book bloggers and book clubs.

Book Discussions (3:05 – 3:50)

Join four book clubs as they discuss a chosen book.

Flips Flipping Pages

Pinoy Reads Pinoy Books

Goodreads – The Filipino Group

RMM Booked Up

Readers’ Choice Book Awards Ceremony (4:00 – 5:00)

Winners of the Filipino Readers’ Choice Book Awards, which will be an event held online from July to August, will be acknowledged and awarded.

Readers’ Cocktails and Socials (5:15 – 6:00)

Hangout with fellow readers, share reading stories, and maybe win a few books.

We’re also reaching out to any small/self/indie publishers who want to sell their wares at the event, so if you’re interested, get in touch on Facebook or Twitter. The 2013 Filipino Reader Con will be taking place on November 9 at the Ateneo de Manila’s Rizal Library, and if you’re a Filipino reader, writer, or publisher, do block off that date. That “What Readers Want” theme is one that we take seriously — the Reader Con is the most reader-driven convention in the country (just look at those panels and activities!) so you’re missing out on a unique perspective if you’re not at Ateneo on the 9th of November.

About Me

Rocket Kapre is an imprint of Eight Ray Sun Publishing Inc. (a new Philippine-based publisher), dedicated to bringing the very best of Philippine Speculative Fiction in English to a worldwide audience by means of digital distribution. More info can be found at our About section at the top of the page.